Graduate Division

General Requirements for Master's Degrees

Structure of Master's Curricula

A. Major Field (18-31 credit hours)
B. Music History and Literature Requirement

6 credit hours selected from:

  • M502 Composers: Variable Topics (3 cr.). May be repeated for different topics.
  • M510 Topics in Music Literature (3 cr.). May be repeated for different topics.
  • M525 Survey of Operatic Literature (3 cr.)
  • M527 Symphonic Literature (3 cr.)
  • M528 Chamber Music Literature (3 cr.)
  • M650 Music in the United States (3 cr.)
  • M651 Medieval Music (3 cr.)
  • M652 Renaissance Music (3 cr.)
  • M653 Baroque Music (3 cr.)
  • M654 Classic Music (3 cr.)
  • M655 Romantic Music (3 cr.)
  • M656 Modern Music (3 cr.)
  • M657 Music Since 1960 (3 cr.)
C. Other Required Credits

6 credit hours, inside or outside the Jacobs School of Music.

  • Courses must be at the 500 level or higher, except that courses outside the Jacobs School of Music may be at the 300 or 400 levels with the approval of the director of graduate studies. For students whose degree requires a language as a tool subject, 200-level courses in that language may be used with the approval of the student’s degree department and the director of graduate studies. V580 Practicum in German for Musicians and its co-requisite GER-V 605 German Grammar and Syntax for Musicians may be used toward Other Required Credits only if this course is not being used to fulfill a language proficiency. 
  • Performance and composition lessons must be at the 800 level and may not include lessons in the student’s major area (or on any instrument in the case of degrees in multiple woodwinds).
  • Credit hours may not be used for major ensemble, capstone courses (e.g., thesis, document), recitals, proficiency courses, or tool subjects.

Some majors may restrict how some or all of these credit hours are allocated. See individual degree listings.

6 credit hours taken within a single department outside the student’s major department may become an outside area. An outside area may become a minor if 12 credit hours are taken in that field.

D. Major Ensemble

As specified for each major in the Curricula for Graduate Degrees in Music section.

E. Language Proficiencies and Tool Subjects (if required)
F. Comprehensive Review

Before graduation, all master’s degree students must pass an oral or written examination. It is the responsibility of the student to consult with the major department to ascertain the procedures established within that department. This consultation should occur within the first year of residency.

Academic Bulletins

PDF Version

Click here for the PDF version.

Previous Bulletins

Students are ordinarily subject to the curricular requirements outlined in the Bulletin in effect at the start of their current degree. See below for links to previous Bulletins.